A former Jamesburg councilman was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after he allegedly crashed his vehicle into the post of the Monroe Township Middle School score board during a school day.(Photo11: ~File)

An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit revealed Velazquez was injured on the job in January 2016, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Rosenthal, who is prosecuting the case.

Rosenthal said Velazquez’s supplemental American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) insurance policy did not cover on-duty injuries, but she submitted documents containing false and forged information to the company indicating that her injury occurred as the result of a covered, off-duty incident.

As a result, she allegedly received more than $8,600 in disability benefits to which she was not entitled.

Joshua McMahon, a Westfield attorney representing Velazquez, said in a statement that his client is innocent of "these baseless charges" and a victim of "an already out-of-control police director.

"It is no small coincidence that the Elizabeth Police Department, despite being a city that is predominantly Latino and African-American, does not have a single black officer above the rank of Sergeant, and the only reason there are any black sergeants in Elizabeth is because the Department of Justice ordered it," McMahon said.

According to McMahon, Elizabeth Police Director James Cosgrove using his political connections to carry out acts of retaliation against officers "who dare to stand up to the director when he does wrong is nothing new."

"To that end, we fully intend to explore the special relationship between Elizabeth Chief (John) Brennan and Acting Prosecutor (Thomas) Isenhour, and how that special relationship and the discrimination lawsuit my client filed against Cosgrove and Brennan's department almost two years ago impacted what UCPO and EPD have done to this mother of two children," said McMahon, whose statement did not elaborate on the alleged "special relationship" between Brennan and Isenhour.

Cosgrove could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ruby Contreras, the city's acting public information officer, referred all inquiries to the Prosecutor's Office.

If convicted, Velazquez faces a five- to 10-year prison term on the insurance fraud charge.